Kongo-san Tenporin-ji Temple, the head temple of the Daigo-ha school of Shingon Buddhism, is located on the summit of Mount Kongo, on the border between Osaka and Nara prefectures. (1,125 meters above sea level) Near the triangulation point, this sacred mountain is home to the 21st sutra mound, "Myokyo Nyorai Shinrikibon," which is the highest of the Katsuragi Twenty-Eight Stations of the Sutra Mounds. About 1,300 years ago, while En no Gyoja (En no Gyoja Shinhen Daibosatsu), the founder of Shugendo, was undergoing rigorous training at this mountain, he came across the following passage from the Avatamsaka Sutra, Chapter 32, "The Places Where Bodhisattvas Dwell." This passage reads, "There is a place in the sea called Mount Kongo. Since ancient times, it has resided among the Bodhisattvas. At present, there is a Bodhisattva called the Dharma-originator. He is always present there, together with his attendant Bodhisattvas, numbering 1,200 people, and preaches." He was inspired by this teaching and built Mount Ichijo Kongo-san-ji Temple. Later, visiting Kongo-san-ji Temple came to be called "Kongose Mairi." Even today, the word "Kogose" is still used in Chihayaakasaka Village as a vestige of this tradition. The current mountain name is "Kongo-san" and the temple name is "Tenporin-ji Temple." Between the Nara and Kamakura periods, Shugendo established a firm position in the area, and this temple was counted as one of the Seven High Mountains of Shugendo in the Kinki region, and flourished as a training ground for mountain ascetics from all over the country.